Smart City Work Diaries – Meet Courtney
Welcome back to the day-to-day expose of some of Smart City’s boldest personalities. Go ahead and warm yourself up for one of the company’s most beloved firecrackers. When we’re in the office, you can find Courtney locked in a meeting room hosting one screening interview after another, or at her desk candidly spouting off about one relevant topic or another. She’s her daughter, Ava’s, biggest fan and promoter at all hours of the day, and believe us- she has every reason to be. Whether you’ve interviewed with her before, were on-boarded by her, or seek her out for a little tongue-in-cheek level honesty, her inherent boldness brings with it an air that there’s nothing in the world she can’t or won’t accomplish.
Continue reading for an insider’s view of what it’s like to be one of Smart City’s primetime recruiters and biggest brand advocates (or you can just follow your daily posts on LinkedIn because her realness is just as virtually present). It’s obviously no secret that anyone who can help us double our workforce as we expand into four new markets simultaneously and navigate onboarding company-wide during a global pandemic is an absolute boss. In her week-long recount, though, she makes it look way too easy. Everyone needs a “Courtney” on their workforce; we’re just glad the OG is ours!
MONDAY
Preface- Today is one of VERY few Mondays where I actually have a light schedule *insert backflip* because, for only the 2nd time since we went fully remote, we do not have a training class! I love my new-hires to death but this break is much needed. There is still much to be done so let’s get going:
7:30 am- Welp, I’ve snoozed my alarm since 6:30 am and used the time to peruse social media. My daughter is usually up before me, but today I’m waking her up. By that, I just mean turn her room light on and start getting ready (she’s a light sleeper). Ava wakes up and immediately goes potty, which we just got down after a long struggle and lots of prayers.
8:50 am- My car is in the shop (and has been for a month now—don’t wanna discuss it), so Ava and I, after our daily hair struggle routine, walk across the street to my mom’s so we can grab her car keys and let her give Ava some sugar. Now it’s time to drop Ava off at school and go on my daily run!
11:30 am- Two-mile run, check. Share activity with accountability buddies, check. Breakfast of champs (aka a bowl of Captain Crunch- the GOAT of all cereals), check. After all that I hopped on Breezy, our human resource management portal, to take care of roles that are currently open. I only had 57 emails this morning – child’s play – so, I switched gears to post on LinkedIn. I’m a very active “poster” and today I’m taking a few minutes to post about cover letters (ya need them; use them; we appreciate them).
Courtney and her daughter, Ava
3:00 pm- Last call of the day- whoop, whoop! Screening calls get me super energized, plus I’ve received, like, four offer letters today which get me so hyped! We currently have a large headcount to fill because we expanded into 4 new cities at the beginning of COVID, so my days are crazy. I work with GradReach to establish our profile to recruit upcoming/recent grads, complete an offboarding checklist (buzz kill), shove an extra-long chili-cheese coney for lunch, work a few more hiring pipelines, accept yet ANOTHER offer, and get ready to log off by 4 today (Let the church say “Amen”)!
6:00 pm- I did not finish by 4 pm because I was working alongside one of our VPs, Jake, to joint-source for the Customer Success Manager on his team. Took care of some personal ish – boat rental with some friends (because COVID snatched my Hot Girl Summer right on up), picked up Ava, dropped my keys down an elevator shaft weekend before last, so I stopped by the maintenance office to get my new mail key, now I’m using the next few minutes to disconnect a bit and check the notifications on my dating app. It’s more entertaining than anything, but I’ve met some good human beings. Okay, maybe like, one, actually; possibly two.
TUESDAY
8:30 am- Had an extra glass of wine before bed, so my head is feeling that for sure this morning. Luckily, we have an all-company meeting today and those always put me in a great mood. Knock out some hiring pipelines in Breezy before the meeting and answer a text from our CEO, Cassie, about some Indeed stuff. Unfortunately, I received a sales agent exit during the meeting so I had to take care of that.
2:00 pm- Had a few good calls – one, in particular, kept me on my toes for sure. Super sharp, great questions – glad I started my day with her! Our Customer Experience Specialist offer from yesterday was accepted and will be starting Tuesday. Took my first call of the afternoon and am simultaneously conducting an agent exit checklist. I always get so sad when agents leave, no matter the reason. Unfortunately, because it is an independent contractor role, sometimes people have to move on to fulfill their personal needs. Good news, though- we’ve had two offers extended since then!
5:00 pm- Had my last call of the day to do a screening interview; all scorecards and notes have been submitted for everyone I interviewed, and I set up a panel interview and followed up with a few Houston candidates – Movin’ and groovin’, baby!
WEDNESDAY
8:20 am- WHEW, rough start to Hump Day- woke up and my power was out from a storm last night, so Ava and I had to get ready in the dark with my phone flashlight. *eye roll* Today is Morgan, our new recruiter’s first day so I’m using these next few minutes to get in a good headspace and recenter my energy so she has a great new hire experience!
12:10 pm- Had some technical difficulties during Morgan’s onboarding (it’s pouring rain here and the internet was wilding), but she was flexible with me, so it’s fine. We also had our first People Ops Planning meeting with her included and rearranged our workspace to fit both our vibes. One offer out for Atlanta this morning- woohoo! Also had two screening calls, both of which I moved forward. Today is lookin’ up!
4:00 pm- Screenings today went great! The Houston candidate pool is looking much better and I’m so glad about that because they need some cool humans out there ASAP. Morgan listened in on a few of my calls, so I look forward to her feedback as she gets acclimated to her role.
THURSDAY
8:00 am- New rule…no more wine before bed. I’m spending most of today showing Morgan our process for new roles, pipeline management, and the offer processes. So, you’re welcome, readers – today will be a short one for you!
3:00 pm- Whew, today has been HECTIC. Morgan and I got a lot done this morning and will continue tomorrow morning over Zoom since we work from home on Fridays now (WHOOP!). Got a couple of offers out, had lunch with the Munch Squad (a group of super cool Smart City soulmates bound together by our love of food, see below). Now I’m going to wrap up my last two phone screens for the day and touch base with sales management about our next onboarding class.
The ‘Munch Squad’
4:00 pm- Last meeting of the day! Our weekly alignment with sales management has been super helpful in making sure we’re prepared for onboarding, especially since our next class is following a holiday.
FRIDAY
8:30 am- Working from home today but have quite a bit to do. Our class next week is small, but I definitely want to make sure all the fine details are combed out before EOB today. Starting out with Morgan this morning – going to let her take on some of my usual tasks while I shadow via Zoom since she’s a hands-on learner like me. I’m also getting my nails done during my lunch break, which always puts me in a great mood so I’m looking forward to that!
11:30 am- Successful weekly People Ops meeting and my favorite way to wrap up the week and have some good laughs with my squad! I had my first call of the day (and last one for this position until next week, TG). Only one week in and we have someone in the final interview stage! Obviously, we’ll want to see many more candidates, but it’s a great start to finding the perfect fit! Now it’s time to touch base with our People Business Partner (and my boss), Jess.
1:30 pm- Four calls this afternoon (plus my nail appointment, HELLO). Made some changes to one of the positions in line with recent structural changes and got welcome emails scheduled for our next onboarding class. Today was super smooth and I’m looking forward to the challenges next week has in store.
Until next time! -cHicks
The Smart City team, taken Jan. 2020
